By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff

A new Transportation Security Administration pilot program aims to make airport security checkpoints calmer — and perhaps safer — by allowing passengers to pick a lane that suits their pace.

The plan, known as “black diamond,” went into effect at Salt Lake City International Airport last week and will soon be expanded to Denver International Airport.

TSA said that because the airports are near major downhill skiing centers, it went with a ski motif for the different lanes. Green circle is for families and passengers who need special assistance, blue square is for casual travelers who are somewhat familiar with checkpoint procedures and have multiple carry-on bags, and black diamond is for experts, those who are well-versed in security protocol and have limited carryon baggage. Security remains the same for all of the lanes.

“The way it’s set up, everyone in the checkpoint goes through the system,” TSA spokesman Christopher White said. “They can just do it at a rate they’re comfortable with.”

After a few days of running the program, TSA said it cannot give numbers for how many people have passed through or how fast, but White said they’re happy with the feedback so far.

The agency will measure future success in terms of the lanes’ speed and efficiency, along with comments from those who pass through. The pilot is open-ended.

White said TSA has already implemented a few lessons learned from black diamond’s first days. For instance, he said, the “casual traveler” signs originally said “frequent traveler,” leading some passengers to believe the lane was for those enrolled in frequent flyer programs.

Although many of the programs that restructure checkpoint lines — such as Registered Traveler, which is operated by private companies and promises speed for a fee — are aimed at those who travel the most often, usually for business, White said the family lanes were one of the prime concerns for the black diamond program. He said families and those who need special assistance often feel harried by those in line behind them. In fact, he said, there are plans to put just a family lane in Burbank Glendale Pasadena Airport, in California.

“Passengers feel pressure from other passengers,” he said.

Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association, said he has seen that phenomenon in action.

“I’ve watched the poor lady with kid and the stroller and the bag and the business travelers are screaming at her to get through security,” he said.

The difference in pace between families and business travelers goes beyond the fact that those with children often have to check more bags, manage more pairs of shoes and watch toddlers. They often have more time to make it to their planes than someone who shows up with just a briefcase, Dow said.

“Families arrive at airports usually hours in advance and business travelers tend to get there shortly before their flights,” he said.

White said TSA has worked to come up with an obvious question about the program: how to keep casual travelers looking for a “fast lane” out of the expert line. Rather than penalize those in the wrong lane, airport and TSA staff try to approach people early and make sure they get into the line most appropriate for them.

“An officer gave me this analogy, and it’s a good analogy: it’s like the 10 items or less lane at the supermarket,” White said. “Nobody likes it when you bring up 26 items. It is something we’re looking to manage and the airport has been a tremendous help.”

He said the main goal of black diamond is to create a more relaxed atmosphere at airport security checkpoints.

“We feel that by doing this we can increase security by keeping the checkpoint calm,” he said. “Individuals exhibiting suspicious behavior stand out more in a calm checkpoint.”

Not for Every Airport

Black diamond might not work everywhere. White said TSA picked Salt Lake City because it is fairly busy and has a good mix of passengers.

But he said it probably would not work in terminals that lack multiple checkpoints. Atlanta, which has one central checkpoint with 22 lanes would likely be a bad fit, he said.

Dow said it would be worrisome if TSA customizes the checkpoint system for each airport, making travelers essentially re-learn the system every time they board a plane.

“I do think there’s something to be said for all things to be standardized,” he said. But he also added that black diamond seems like a program with potential, and he wants to see TSA experiment more with such ideas. “I really want to applaud TSA for some outside the box thinking and some creativity. The feedback we’ve gotten is that the travel process is inconvenient and undependable. . . . Ideas like this can help.”

Black diamond is one of several new ideas that TSA is testing out across the country, White said. Examples include a partnership with Continental Airlines to produce paperless boarding passes at Houston Intercontinental Airport. In Memphis, TSA security officers are now talking to each other through wireless “whisper” headsets, instead of traditional radios, in another attempt to keep checkpoints relaxed.

“It calms down the lanes,” White said. “There’s less barking, less shouting. The main challenge is finding open frequencies for the headsets at airports. . . . There’s a lot of bandwith taken up.”

Rob Margetta can be reached at rmargetta@cq.com.